Beauchamp another First Time USAC Winner in ISW Round Five

The Wheatley Chronicles – Volume IV, No. 31

Lonnie Wheatley, BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (July 15, 2016) – It has definitely been a week of firsts on the 29th Annual USAC Indiana Sprintweek.

On Friday night at Bloomington Speedway, Brent Beauchamp became the third different driver to capture his first career USAC National Sprint Car feature win over the course of Sprintweek after Tyler Courtney and Kyle Cummins captured the opening two legs.

And it was a battle that waged throughout the majority of the 30-lapper with Beauchamp outlasting Dave Darland in the Sheldon Kinser Memorial to become the fifth different winner in as many rounds of Sprintweek.

“I’ve been trying to win here for so long, but it’s somehow always eluded me,” the Fairland, IN, driver said of his Bloomington triumph. “And to get it during USAC Sprintweek, this is unbelievable.”

Beauchamp earned it in the No. 34 battling side-by-side by perennial USAC frontrunner Darland throughout, with Beauchamp working the bottom portion of the high-banked, ¼-mile clay oval while Darland stayed true to the cushion in Jeff Walker’s No. 11 Sprint Car.

“It reminded me of my earlier days racing on asphalt, I had to be really patient and hit my marks every time,” Beauchamp explained in victory lane.

Beauchamp improved over the course of longer runs with the final 16-lap green-flag stretch working to his advantage as he took command for keeps on the 20th lap after a previous half-dozen official lead changes and slipped away in the closing handful of circuits to secure the breakthrough victory.

In his wake, Brady Bacon snuck by Darland on the final lap to capture runner-up honors and take over the Indiana Sprintweek points lead with two nights of action remaining after previous leader Tyler Courtney went for a wild ride in turn four and then missed transferring from the “B” Main after going to a back-up car.

Darland settled for the show position with Kevin Thomas, Jr., in fourth and Thomas Meseraull rounding out the top five for the second night in a row.

The Vitals

Series: USAC Indiana Sprintweek Round Five

Track: Bloomington Speedway (Bloomington, IN)

Car Count: 48

Quick Time: Chad Boespflug (10.787 seconds)

Qualifying Moments: The second car to hit the track, Boespflug set a new track record that wouldn’t be matched.

Heat Moments: The opening two heats ran off caution-free with Windom taking heat one by half-a-lap before Stockon bested heat two; After an Isaac Chapple spin in two to bring out the first caution in heat two, Dakota Jackson got out of shape in the same place soon after and turned over after contact from Nick Bilbee with Jon Stanbrough caught up in the incident as well; Shane Cottle breaks while running in a transfer position to laps shy of the checkered in the third and is done for the night with Josh Hodges racing past Bret Mellenberndt for the final transfer position with the white flag in sight; The cushion bites front row outside starter Tyler Courtney in the initial corner of the fourth heat and sends the ISW points leader on a wild ride to the pit shack well off of turn two; Aaron Farney leads half the way before Schuerenberg, Bacon and Coons, Jr., race by in the most competitive heat of the night with C.J. Leary stealing the final transfer from Farney in the final corner.

“C” Main Winner (starting position in parentheses): Jon Stanbrough (4).